In this new cinematic era where ‘Content is King’ and with the rise of OTT platforms bringing us new, fresh and innovative content with each passing day, we have a fresh bunch of talented actors becoming sensations overnight. Some of them are young and ready to take on the world, yet others have been around for a while and are finally getting their due. Some of these stars have carved such a niche for themselves, that roles are being written for them and new shows are being renewed for further seasons due to their popularity. The digital medium has given rise to stars like Pankaj Tripathi and Vikrant Massey being hailed as true gems of Indian Cinema. While there are many rising stars across all OTT platforms, we’ve put together a list of 5 for you who have really made a mark and are bagging great projects one after the other.
1. Shreya Dhanwanthary
Post a couple of outings in Telegu cinema, Shreya bagged the Bollywood film ‘Why Cheat India’ opposite Emraan Hashmi, but it did nothing for her career since the film tanked at the box office. It was only after the Manoj Bajpayee starrer ‘The Family Man’, that everyone sat up and took notice of her. Shreya was then given the golden opportunity of playing a titular role in the Pratik Gandhi led ‘Scam 1992’. The series based on the scamster Harshad Mehta really catapulted her to fame and there wasn’t a soul not praising her performance to the skies. One of the best gems that the OTT platforms have given us, this young 32 year old actress has bagged two good Bollywood projects post this, Taapsee Pannu starrer ‘Looop Lapeta’ and ‘Paa’ director R.Balki’s next with Dulquer Salmaan.
2. Rohit Saraf
Post playing some supporting roles in albeit good Bollywood projects, alongside stars like Alia Bhatt (in ‘Dear Zindagi’), Rani Mukerji (in ‘Hichki’) and Priyanka Chopra (in ‘The Sky is Pink’), Rohit finally bagged the lead in the Netflix web series ‘Mismatched’ alongside actress Prajakta Koli, who has also received much love for the show. The series did extremely well and was renewed for a 2nd season too. The cute, ‘next-door-boy’ looking actor has now become a well known face and a bankable Netflix star, having acted in the streaming giant’s anthology projects ‘Ludo’ and ‘Feels Like Ishq’. The young, 24 year old actor has very much arrived and is ready to take on the world.
3. Abhishek Banerjee
Not many know that the actor initially started out as a casting director for movies like ‘The Dirty Picture’, ‘Secret Superstar’, ‘OK Jaanu’ and ‘Kalank’ among others. He then turned to acting and post a few supporting roles in films like ‘Stree’, ‘Bala’ and the famous Amazon Prime Video web series ‘Mirzapur’, finally bagged the main antagonist role in 2020’s ‘Paatal Lok’. The series actually gave rise to two stars who were hailed for their performances, Abhishek and lead actor Jaideep Ahlawat. Post the attention, Abhishek has now bagged important roles in promising Bollywood projects like Dharma Productions’ ‘Dostana 2’ and Dinesh Vijan’s ‘Bhediya’ with Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.
4. Shweta Tripathi
After a few notable performances in films like ‘Masaan’ with Vicky Kaushal and ‘Gone Kesh’, she has become quite the rising OTT Queen, her most loved performance being that of Golu Gupta in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Mirzapur’ series, that’s all set to come back for a 3rd season. Post that, she bagged great roles in projects like ‘Laakhon Mein Ek’, ‘The Gone Game’, ‘Cargo’ and most recently the upcoming Taapsee Pannu starrer, ‘Rashmi Rocket’. So it’s safe to say that she’s arrived, her latest achievement being her appearance on the digital cover of Elle India Magazine.
5. Rasika Dugal
Although having acted in films like ‘Aurangzeb’, ‘Bombay Talkies’ and ‘Manto’, Rasika’s major breakthrough was her performance in Amazon Prime Video’s web series ‘Mirzapur’. Since then, she has received critical appreciation for multiple web shows including, ‘Made in Heaven’, ‘Delhi Crime’ and ‘A Suitable Boy’. She even bagged the lead role in Disney+Hotstar’s web show ‘Out of Love’, a second season of which released recently and the Bollywood film ‘Lootcase’ opposite Kunal Kemmu, that received good reviews. Incidentally, Rasika has been nominated for her performances in both ‘Lootcase’ and ‘Mirzapur 2’ at the Indian Film Festival, Melbourne.